Just For This Moment
by Green Amber
Summary: A collection of tales concerning the relationship between Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki. [17. Way Back When] Sometimes, it's nice to just sit back and think about the good old days of childhood.
1. Gracious Queen of Deception

**Title:** Gracious Queen of Deception

**Theme:** 8. Wear a Crown of Snapdragons (from Ichiruki community)

**Characters/Pairing:** Ichigo/Rukia

**Rating:** PG

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**Notes:** All flowers have a special meaning, sometimes, several meanings. For example, marigold can mean grief and despair. A dark crimson rose means mourning. And snapdragons? They stand for "gracious lady" and deception.

Also, this takes place just after Rukia is brought back to Soul Society, and before Ichigo arrives.

* * *

When she was younger, she used to weave herself a crown of flowers on the day she had chosen for her birthday. Every year, she would chose a different flower and weave the stems together to create her crown, which she would then place upon her head. Usually, it was winter at that time, and the pickings were slim, but she made do with what she could find or steal. Renji and the others would all laugh at her, but she refused to let their taunts bother her on her special day and would walk off to find a tree to climb. She would climb as high as she possibly could and with her flower crown on her head, be Queen of a world where nothing could touch her.

And then, death came to her world.

After her third brother had died (the district was no place for children, after all), she made three small flower wreaths, which she placed on each grave, and told Renji she wanted to become a Soul Reaper.

She could admit to herself now that she had been trying to escape the jaws of death. She really should have known better. Death is all-powerful and can never be stopped.

Life at the academy was hard. Harder than she expected, but that was because she found, that upon coming to the academy she had lost Renji. Renji had no time for her anymore; he was too busy running ahead, driven by ambition. Rukia wasn't driven by ambition; she just wanted to escape death. And so she watched as he ran ahead and forgot about the girl who was his family. She made a crown of marigold for all those years she was at the academy.

And then she was adopted into the Kuchiki family. And she stopped making flower crowns altogether. Her birthday was now a cold formal affair, of which it felt like she wasn't even a part. She placed a dark crimson rose (which she stole from the garden) in the vase beside her bed, and watched as it slowly withered in its elegant vase, and understood exactly how it felt.

Even Lieutenant Kaien's wonderful friendship could not help her to escape that feeling, although she could not ask for a better friend. He once promised to remain her friend even after his death, and starting her next birthday, she began preserving her stolen withered roses.

But then she killed him. And something died within her.

Her Captain and squad watched her with tight lips and worried eyes as she went about life with little to no interest. Her Captain had the most trouble talking to her; he knew that it was his fault that the girl's eyes were dead. Her brother never said anything whenever he came upon her training with her Zanpakuto in the garden, but she never said anything to him either. On her birthday that year, she awoke to find the vase full of fresh roses, the same kind she had been stealing for years. She burned them all, never once questioning how they had ended up in her room, and wondered why she hadn't died that day too.

There were no more flowers for many years.

And then, **he** came crashing into her world. And she remembered how to live once more. She wasn't quite sure how it happened, but soon he became the centre of her broken world, and she became his (not that either would have admitted it). If she had put any thought into it, she would have called him her best friend, and he would most likely have done the same. And for the first time in a very long while, Rukia Kuchiki was very happy.

But if there is anything that she has learned in all of her years: happiness is very short lived.

When he defeated the Menos Grande, Rukia knew that the time had come to say goodbye. But she would not go without leaving him a gift . . . Ichigo had been born to be a Soul Reaper, unlike herself, and he still had so much to live to see – vengeance for his mother, for one . . . and so, she decided that she would allow him to keep her power. She decided to leave without saying goodbye; it was too hard to form the words, and she would rather remember only the good times.

She really should have known better.

Her brother and Renji came, and the boy – Ichigo died thinking that she hated him. Her last memory of him was not one that she wished to remember, but one that she held onto as tightly as she could: that of the look of betrayal on his face as she bit out harsh, hurtful words and left him to die, spared from the edge of her brother's sword.

Now, as she sat in the middle of the holding cell, ignoring the hunger pangs of her stomach, she remembered the boy she had left behind. And although she didn't have any flowers (they were considered a thing of pleasure, and were therefore forbidden to the criminal), her hands still made the motions, and in her mind she made a crown of snapdragons in memory of the boy – no, man, who had come to be her most important person in such a short while.

She would not fight the coming of death and she would welcome it into her arms for her crime of deception. She wondered if it would have Ichigo's face.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I would like to start this author's note by first off apologizing to anyone who has suffered because of this. This was not my intention and I did wish to deal with this problem on a private level so that both my and my fellow writer, Silence's individual concerns with regards to this situation could be addressed and dealt with in a way that would have been beneficial to us both. Unfortunately, this was not possible and so I have been forced to try to communicate with Silence in the public's eyes, and so I apologize for that, as I did not mean to bring anyone else into this situation.

As some of you know and some of you don't know, I have recently come into conflict with a fellow writer and a fan of my work - Silence. The reason for this conflict was the fact that Silence was using several ideas from my work in her own fiction, without asking me first if she could do so. Now, normally I would not have a problem with this, as I can understand the fact that we are all influenced, by what we read, and that sometimes we end up incorporating that idea into our stories without realizing it, which is what happened in this case. I admit that I was very flattered that a couple of my stories were able to inspire someone to write several insightful stories of their own. It is a very beautiful feeling, and I especially loved Silence's own view of the zanpaktou's connection to their master's soul.

However, my opinion changed when Silence again updated her story "Denial" and this time took the final scene from my story "To Make Her Smile" and rewrote it into her own work. This time, I felt that I had the right to be concerned simply because the details in both scenes were the same right down to point of view being used to describe this scene. I apologize again if I did overstep my place here, it is just that Silence is a very talented author who has some fantastic ideas, and I felt that she did not have to reuse my scene in order to make her brilliant story work. I also admit that because of this one instance, I no longer viewed the previous instances in the same light that I had before, and that is why I initially asked for Silence to remove those references to my ideas as well.

Unfortunately, I was not clear enough in my initial letter about what exactly my problem was, for which I have been hitting myself over the head several times. Silence explained to me that that scene had been unintentionally placed into her story and I was immediately sorry that I had acted so rashly. Sadly, I was not able to contact Silence either privately or fast enough to explain my reasons to her before she decided to swear off writing fanfiction forever. I've told Silence that I am willing and able to ignore the early instances as I had before, but I asked her to please re-write the latest chapter of her story "Denial" and to take out my scene. I think that this is a reasonable request because Silence has many wonderful ideas and I would love to see her own thoughts about this arc of the manga.

I have asked Silence to contact me because I would really like to talk to her and create a solution to this conflict that is beneficial to the both of us. Sadly, I have not heard from her yet, but I remain hopeful, as thankfully she has decided not to give up writing, and I am eternally grateful to her friend Angel for convincing her to continue writing as she shows a great deal of talent and I would love the chance to see that talent grow. However, I understand that it is difficult at the moment for her to email me, so I just hope that she will get in contact with me at some point in time and that way we can work out this problem together.

I apologize again for making this all public and for bothering the readers who come here to read fiction, not two authors in the middle of a conflict. And I hope that this issue can be solved as peacefully as possible.

Thank you for your time,

Green Amber


	2. In Order To Protect

**Title:** In Order To Protect

**Theme:** 1. Tiny Cage for a Golden Bird

**Characters/Pairings:** Ichigo, Ichigo/Rukia

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** If he has to clip her wings in order to keep her safe from the rest of the world, he will.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing besides a headache.

**Notes:** This takes place in the current arc, after Ichigo has won his first battle, and Rukia has just met Kaien.

* * *

Ichigo was slowly going crazy.

He was such an idiot. He should never have agreed for them to split up in five directions. If even he, who had loads more power than most of the Soul Reapers he had met, required the aid of his Hollow, then where did that put Rukia?

When he felt Chad's spirit energy sputter, he had had to restrain himself from turning back for his friend.

_I have to believe in him... I have to believe in him..._ If he kept repeating those words over and over again, maybe he might start believing them.

He ran forward, clutching Nell to him like a lifeline.

It probably made it worse that he could feel Rukia's spirit power through the walls. It was that power that he was headed towards. Fear clung to him. She was like a beacon in a lighthouse, drawing all to her, not just him. Shadowy forms drifted toward her, sharpening their claws in anticipation, intent on swallowing her whole. It made him feel sick to know that their power was not so different from his own. He felt bile rising up at the thought.

He started running faster, pushing himself to the limit. The faster he got to her, the faster he could take her back home and stuff her in his closet. The world was no longer a safe place, and if he had to clip her wings and stuff her in a cage to keep her away from the hungry cats, then he would, no second thoughts.

A part of him knew that she would hate him forever, if he did that. But strangely enough, he didn't care. None of that mattered as long as she was safe and alive. As long as she was safe, he could deal with her hating him forever.

A sudden flare of dark energy exploded in Rukia's direction, and he felt Rukia's spiritual energy spike up in alarm.

He ran past his limit.


	3. Routine

**Title:** Routine

**Theme:** A Temporary Heaven

**Characters/Pairings:** Rukia, Renji, Ichiruki

**Rating:** G (PG? Ichigo threatens Chappy)

**Summary:** Rukia's thoughts on the new routine her life has taken and her inability to return to the old one.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, besides a stupid headache and a sore backbone.

**Notes:** This is a follow-up piece to **Gracious Queen of Deception**. I originally meant for Rukia to find out that Ichigo was still alive, but instead this popped into my head. There will be another piece following this where Rukia is informed that Ichigo is alive and coming for her.

* * *

As the days passed, the stomach pangs grew worse and worse. It felt like something was eating her from the inside (It reminded her of Fishbone's teeth when they ripped through her torso). It was getting harder and harder to ignore. But ignore it she did.

Everyday, Renji would enter her cell with a plate full of food, and everyday, he would take back a full plate. It had become a routine. She would sit in her chair, staring up at the tiny window of her cell. He would swing open the door, always violently and with a lot of noise in an attempt to get a reaction. She would not give him one. He would approach her chair, and place the plate of food on her lap (as always, it was topped high. The higher-ups are starting to get worried). She didn't acknowledge its existence, but continued to stare at the small patch of sky that she could see through her small window. Annoyed with her, Renji would snap at her, demanding to know why she didn't eat. She would make some flippant remark about his eyebrows and his Vice-captaincy, and Renji would leave the cell stomping and growling, her mocking laughter ringing in his ears.

It was a routine that she had come to expect everyday. It did not offer the comfort it might have once done, back in a time when her hands weren't covered with blood. Instead, she found herself wishing to return to a different time, with a different routine and a different man.

Ichigo would have resorted to bribery.

"_You don't want to eat, do you? Well, I don't know about you Rukia, but I don't think that Mr. Chappy will look half as handsome with only one ear."_

Bastard. Stupid, stupid bastard.

With a sudden scream of rage, she grabbed the plate and hurled it against the bars.

By the time Renji arrived, she was back to sitting straight backed in her chair, staring at something only she could see, and there was only the broken china and spoilt food to evidence that she had even moved at all. Renji snapped and began screaming at her, demanding to know what was wrong with her.

She didn't even hear him. She was beyond hearing now.

It was all just part of the routine.


	4. Hero in the Making

**Title:** A Hero in the Making

**Series:** Bleach

**Theme:** Have It Your Way

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**Character(s)/Pairings:** Ichigo; Ichigo/Rukia

**Rating:** PG-13 (Ichigo has a bit of a language problem)

**Summary:** Why do you need to have a reason to save someone?

**Notes:** This is a follow-up piece to **Gracious Queen of Deception** and **Routine**. There should be one more piece in this small series. This also takes place just after Ichigo has come to Soul Society, but before he has entered the Court of Souls.

* * *

Why should anyone need a reason to save someone?

Do you really need a well thought out reason to save the pitiful little kitty that's mewing its little heart out in the tree? (Besides the fact that it belongs to a little girl with big round eyes, who's about to burst into tears at any moment).

You save someone because they need to be saved. End of story. Period.

Somebody did not give the memo to the freaks in Soul Society.

It's always: "You only knew her for two months. It that really enough time to really get to know someone? Is that enough to lay down your life for them? Blah, blah, blah." Obviously, they have never experienced the joy of having someone live in **their** closet, and of being forced to do somebody else's work.

And no matter who he talks to, they always get a shocked look on their face when he replies: "I owe her."

And he does owe her.

Ichigo Kurosaki is in huge debt to Rukia Kuchiki.

But it isn't for the reason that most of these freaks think it is. Despite the fact that it was Rukia's blood that hit the cold pavement that night, that now seems so long ago, he doesn't owe her because she was willing to throw away her own life for his. After all, he threw away his own life only a few minutes later.

Nor does he owe her for saving the lives of his sisters and father. Not that he's ungrateful. He is. He just knows that even if he actually does manage to rescue Rukia, he will still never be able to completely express his thanks. She stopped him from killing anyone else in his family.

And he definitely doesn't owe her for discovering the true cause of his mother's death. He knows full well that he is still responsible for what happened, and nothing is ever going to change that fact. However, that aching wound doesn't seem as sharp as it did only a few hours before he met Grand Fisher (and it might become even duller once he avenges the woman who was once the center of the world).

Perhaps, he does owe her for that... but only just a little bit, and only because she told him that when he was ready to talk, she would be there to listen. That's part of the reason he needs to rescue her now. If he doesn't, who else is he supposed to talk to when he's finally ready to move on?

Why do you need a reason to save someone?

How does one become indebted to someone?

That night he confronted Grand Fisher, he asked Rukia for something - something he should never have asked for. He was such an idiot. Such a greedy idiot, who only thought about himself.

He asked Rukia for more time. He asked her to allow him to continue to use **her** power. All he could think about at that point was the burning need to avenge his mother. He never once thought about Rukia when he made that selfish request. (As he looks back now, he can remember several instances where Rukia had problems moving her limbs because of that stupid gigai she was forced to remain in while he ran around with her powers).

And Rukia had smiled at him. She had smiled at him and nodded her assent. Had the idiot even known what she was agreeing to?

Of course she did. He has to scoff at himself at this point. Of course, Rukia had known the risk she was running. Rukia knew all the rules. Despite her own personal thoughts regarding those rules (which he had never bothered to learn), Rukia had known and followed all of those rules to a T.

Except, she kept breaking them all. It was like she couldn't stop. Like she was getting a rush from bending each rule until it snapped. Passing her powers to a human. Refusing to report back to her superiors. Rescuing Kon. Living as a human among mortals. He wouldn't be surprised if she had broken more rules than he was really aware of. What had made a person like her turn out in such a way?

That's another reason why he needs to rescue her. He needs _and_ wants to know more about Rukia. It is a feeling that has grown since that night in the cemetery, but lately, he's found himself wanting to become that man, the man who Rukia will want to tell her story to. Someone who will listen and not judge. He wants to listen just as much as he wants to tell her.

Why do you need a reason to save someone?

How does one become indebted to someone?

He made a promise to himself after Rukia granted his request.

He promised that he would never allow anyone to go through what he went through. He would destroy Hollows for both themselves and for the loved ones they left behind. He would destroy Hollows for the innocents who had become their food. He would become their protector and live up to his name.

He never told Rukia about this promise. For some reason, he thought that she would laugh at him. He knows now that she never would have laughed. Rukia didn't laugh about those kinds of things. She would have understood.

Rukia was gone now, and it was all his fault. It was like his mother's death all over again. He, the Fool, was protected by first the Empress and the memory of her blood was burned into his skin. He was saved once again, this time by a girl he had only known for two months. And now the sight of Rukia's eyes, when she last spoke to him, is burned into his retinas.

Why do you need a reason to save someone?

How does one become indebted to someone?

Since he's gotten to Soul Society, there have been many assumptions made about him.

"He's bat-shit insane" seems to be a really popular theory among the locals. (Apparently, these loonies haven't looked in a mirror lately).

"He's madly in love with her" is another one. (He doesn't even want to know what those freaky old ladies were on).

"Did she offer you a reward for saving her or something?"... (Ganju's an idiot. Enough said.)

Why?

Why?

Why?

The question rings in his ears.

I owe her.

_I_ owe her.

I _owe_ her.

I owe _her_.

The answer does too.

Some assume upon hearing his story that his debt revolves around the fact that Rukia shed hot, sticky blood for him. Why else would he have put up with her so long? (These people really didn't know Rukia Kuchiki that well, if they thought that he had had any say in the matter).

What they don't understand was that it wasn't the blood that fell that night so long ago that continues to haunt him. It is the tears in her eyes as she looked down on him. It is the knowledge that she walked right into the hands of her brother (the fucking bastard) who was taking her back home to die. It is the knowledge that she knew all along that this was the path that she was headed towards. It is the fact that she looked back at him as the door closed.

And it all boils down to one essential fact: he failed to protect her when she needed him to. And that is the biggest debt of all.

And Ichigo Kurosaki is not going to rest until he has fulfilled that debt towards the girl who came to be... in his life. Once he's rescued her, then and only then will he figure out what that position is, but until then, he has a reluctant damsel in distress to rescue.

Why do you need a reason to save someone?

How does one become indebted to someone?

You rescue someone because they need to be rescued.

You become indebted to someone because you failed to save them. You failed to reach out a much-needed hand.

You rescue someone because they need to be rescued; but also because you need to rescue them.


	5. No More Words

**Title:** No More Words

**Series:** Bleach

**Theme:** 28. Silence

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**Characters/Pairings:** Ichigo, Rukia; Ichigo/Rukia

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** Ichigo attempts to confess to Rukia, not realizing that he confessed a long time ago.

**Notes:** Written for the Cookie Overlord, who demanded an IchiRuki kiss. One does not disobey the Cookie Overlord if they wish to ever taste gingerbread again in this lifetime.

* * *

Staring death in the face several times is nothing compared to gazing down into the eyes of this girl, who could smash his heart with her heel, if it should please her to do so.

Seventeen years old and finally admitting to the girl that he has loved since two years prior, the extent of his feelings for her.

He's fought wars and he's killed. He's run his sword through many a person and smiled as they let out a short scream. He's been mistaken for both friend and foe; and he's betrayed more than his fair share of friends, all for her. This girl with the power to kill with a single smile.

She smiles at him now with that smile, and he can feel his heart beating a funeral march.

This was a bad idea.

A very bad idea.

VERY, VERY BAD.

His hand is sweating in hers. She runs her thumb over his knuckles, and nibbles a little on her lip, a habit she only shows when she's slightly nervous.

"I'll tell you later." He finally gasps out. BAD. BAD. BAD IDEA.

Her eyes fall to the pavement for a moment, before she glances back at him. "You had better say it now, so it won't be awkward for us later." Her tone is brisk and forceful. Her grip on his hand tightens, as if she could force the words out of his mouth.

_"So it won't be awkward for us later."_

Her words echo through his head.

She doesn't love him back. He should have known. Damn, he's such an idiot to ever believe for a moment that she'd... that she'd. She's never felt for him as he's felt for her.

He bits the inside of his lip. "It doesn't matter." He tries to remove his hand, but her hand is trembling too much. It causes him to pause. "Rukia?" He forces out the name that once slid so easily over his tongue. Her head is downcast and he can no longer see her eyes. "Rukia?"

Her head snaps up, and he's startled to see unshed tears in her eyes. What she says however, startles him even more.

"If you're going to break up with me, you had better do it now before it gets any harder for me."

His jaw drops. "B-break-up with you?!" He all but screeches.

Rukia nods, looking furious. "I should have known something was wrong when you forgot our first year anniversary, but I just shook it off because it was during exams. But I see how it is now. You've found somebody else, who is far more willing to obey your needs than her own and you're leaving me because I'm not ready to go to second base yet." She paused for breath. "And where the hell is second base, anyway? I keep asking and all I get are these really funny looks. Except for that one old man who attempted to touch me in a very inappropriate place, but I showed him why one does not touch a member of the Kuchiki household unless he has her explicit permission. But why should you care? I've only been giving you hints for the last six months and you didn't even notice." The frown on her face deepens, and some of her tears run down her cheeks.

"YOU WERE MOLESTED?!" Is the first thing that gets out of Ichigo's mouth, quickly followed by: "WE WERE GOING OUT?!"

Rukia gives him a funny look. "What else would you call this then?" She raises their tightly clasped hands to his eye level.

It was an almost unconscious habit that he had to hold Rukia's hand or wrist whenever they're walking to school or to the Vizard's stronghold to spar with each other. It's another habit he has to put his arm around her whenever it's raining and they have to share an umbrella. And it all began almost two years ago when they had stumbled out of the gate that led to Hueco Mundo, clinging to each other desperately in an attempt to convince each other that they were indeed alive.

He gapes at her for a long moment.

Rukia ignores him and wipes away rebellious tears. "I won't make this any more awkward for you, Ichigo. Don't worry, I know exactly how these things go." She gives him a wobbly smile, before kissing him on the cheek. "Thanks and goodbye... And remember, we'll always have Paris."

Rather than asking who let her watch that stupid chick flick ("Daddy was only trying to help his beloved son, who must carry on the family line!"), he tightens his grip on her hand, and kisses her on the lips. Sure, it might not have been the greatest kiss in the world (banging your nose against your girlfriend's, never spells romantic), but it stops her from crying and it gets the message across.

They part after a moment.

"That," he says. "I wanted to tell you that." His face is red and his nose hurts.

She smiles, and looks slightly embarrassed. "Took you long enough." This time she kisses him, and his arms curl around her waist.

He really is an idiot at times. He doesn't need to tell her that he loves her in words, he's already shown her a million times through his looks and through the way he holds her hand. And now that he thinks about it, she's been saying "I love you" in the exact same way all of this time.

The kiss breaks off and she smiles at him with that smile that no longer threatens death (if it ever did). His hands are still pressed into her back as he goes to kiss her once more.

"Ichigo, where is second base anyway?"


	6. The Awakening of Miranda

**Title:**The Awakening of Miranda

**Series:** Bleach

**Theme:** Tempest

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**Dedication:** For Nagi, who is wonderful.

**Characters/Pairings:** Ichigo, Rukia, Uryu, Aizen (in spirit), Urahara (in spirit). Ichigo/Rukia.

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** The girl who is Miranda no longer knows the difference between her father's voice and her own.

**Notes:** While I love all of Shakespeare's works, his final play The Tempest has always filled me with a sense of horror in the fact that all of the characters, including the main character Prospero's daughter, Miranda, danced to the tune that Prospero played for them. None of the characters made decisions of their own free will, any choice that they made was a choice that Prospero led them to - in the end there was no choice, no freedom, no love - only puppets following the directions of their puppet master.

* * *

Tiny flames licked the night air, feeding hungrily on the verses that he fed them. Page after page slowly crinkled and curled up, as ink ran like blood. Paper crumbled to dust and the wind swept the dust off the small apartment deck and back to its creator. 

His hands were black with soot and there were several blisters on his fingers from when he had held the matches for too long. Burnt match after burnt match lay on the ground around him, each one used to kill. His eyes watched in morbid fascination as each match killed more and more words that had been used to create something that was once of beauty. Every so often, his eyes would leave the page to glance over at the girl who leaned against the railing on the opposite side of the balcony.

Wrapped in a white sheet to warm her shivering body, the girl watched the flame lick its prey lovingly before devouring it. Her eyes were dull, and the light was reflected too brightly from her eyes. Water droplets slid down her hair to drop onto her neck. A pale hand lay outside of the blanket - it was covered with raw, red scratches - her nail tips were red.

Another page died.

He had been pressing her for quite some time to read some of the great Bard's work. She had been living in his world for five years now and she still had yet to fully appreciate the man who had been William Shakespeare. He had finally managed to convince her to read the plays after taking Rukia to his University's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which she had immediately fallen in love with.

As they had walked home that night, he had been amazed to hear her repeating a number of lines from the play, in the exact same way that they had been presented by the actors. Her eyes had glowed in a way he had never seen them glow before and he had found himself kissing her as soon as they were in the hallway of his apartment.

"They're so much easier to understand, you know." She told him later, much later. She grinned at him. "I find them easier to understand than a lot of today's discourse."

Somehow that didn't really surprise him.

She had stared digging out all of his old, worn copies of the various Shakespearean texts and had started reading one right after the other while he was at his classes. He would come in and find her either giggling helplessly at one of the comedies or find the remainder of tears on her cheeks from reading one of the tragedies. King Lear had really gotten to her for some reason (he suspected that it was because that play hit a little too close to home for a girl who had never known her family).

He should never have let that one play fall into her hands. He should have known. He should have realized that that was the one play that she should never read.

Rukia's lips had been pressed thin as she placed the book on her bedside table, withdrawing her hand away - slowly, purposely - before switching off her lamp. Without a word, she turned her back to him and pulled the sheets up to her chin.

Slightly confused by her mysterious behavior (she usually stayed up to talk to him about the plays and discuss possible theories with him - they had argued for a week about whether Hamlet had been really insane or not), Ichigo turned off his own light and reached out to wrap his arm around her body (a habit he had developed after the war).

She jerked violently the moment his hand touched her shoulder.

Hurt and feeling more confused than before, he pulled back his offending appendage. "Rukia?"

"Burn it." Her voice was hard and cold, as hard as it had been that one rainy night almost five years ago.

"YOU CAN'T BURN SHAKESPEARE!" Ichigo screeched just a bit too loudly. The occupant in the room next door thumped on the wall loudly. Ichigo glowered at the wall before turning his glare back to Ruka.

"Fine." Rukia bit out, still not facing him. "Toss it into the ocean then."

"You. Are. Talking. About ONE OF THE GREATEST WRITERS OF ALL TIME!" There was a bang from the other side of the wall. Ichigo turned to the wall. "SHUT UP ISHIDA AND GO BACK TO YOUR KNITTING!" He turned back to Rukia. "Just WHAT is your problem with SHAKESPEARE?!"

There was another bang from the other side of the wall. "IT IS NOT KNITTING! IT JUST SO HAPPENS THAT I'M WORKING ON THE EMBROIDRY OF THE DRESS NEEDED FOR THE DRAMA CLUB'S PRODUCTION OF A STREET CAR NAMED DESIRE!!!"

"I DON'T CARE WHAT IT'S FOR, JUST SHUT UP BEFORE I BANKAI YOUR ASS!" Screamed Ichigo, once again cursing whichever idiot decided it would be a great idea for Ichigo and Ishida to room together while at University. He grabbed his blankets, ready to wrench them off to go and seek some peace from stupid sewing Quincys and girlfriends who couldn't appreciate the wonder that was William Shakespeare.

"I'm not Miranda."

Rukia's voice made him pause. "What…?" He turned around to stare at Rukia's small back. "Rukia?"

"My decisions are my own."

He reached out to touch her shoulder and this time it trembled under his hand.

"I'm not Miranda."

His eyes fell upon the well-worn book, with its tattered cover that still spelled out clearly: The Tempest.

"Rukia."

She didn't hear him. "I killed Kaien-dono because I was selfish - because I wanted to."

"Rukia...?"

"I saved Ichigo because I could. I didn't release because I could handle it."

Fear was beginning to fill him as she began digging her finger nails into her arm leaving long angry scratches.

"I killed Aaroniro because I hated him. He found me and I found him because we wanted to."

He grabbed her in his arms and picking her up off the bed, kicked his door open and rushed to the washroom. Stepping under the shower, he grabbed the shower handle and twisted it so that only the coldest water would rain down on them.

"I'm not Miranda." Her voice sounded so small and so not Rukia.

The water would be able to wake her up in a way he couldn't.

Now they found themselves outside on that small balcony, rendering The Tempest to ashes.

Each page had to be burned individually and the matches only lasted so long. He had found a couple of lighters in one of the drawers in the kitchen (Ishida had always been good at making sure that they were outfitted for any and every emergency). He was now onto the second lighter.

The last page burned now - the page with Prospero's ending speech, the moment when he released all of his puppets.

Soot still blackening his hands and parts of his face, he now reached for Rukia, his hands staining her shivering face. His thumbs caressed her cheeks and he kissed her hard on the mouth.

He pulled away after a moment. "You're free. They can't touch you and they never have."

She stared at him in something like disbelief before taking his face in her own hands and kissing him back.

Soot of burnt chains painted both their skins as they lay there together on the balcony celebrating the fact that they were neither Miranda nor Ferdinand.

_You're free._


	7. Patchwork

**Title:** Patchwork

**Torture:** Guilt Trip

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing

**Characters/Pairings:** Ichigo, Rukia; Ichigo/Rukia

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** Scars are not always trophies in the eyes of the world.

**Warnings:** Slight spoilers for the recent chapters, nothing too serious.

* * *

There was something all together comforting about the way he could easily hide his scars behind the barrier of a thin cotton t-shirt. At the same time, there was something altogether unsettling about the whole feeling of relief that swept through his body in the knowledge that those scars were hidden from prying eyes.

It wasn't that he was ashamed of those scars - they represented just how far he had and could go to protect someone - it was just that the Human world at large, would not and could not understand the importance of those scars.

It is said that people are afraid of the unknown, a true saying if there ever was one. If the world were to look upon him with his body covered with multiple unexplainable scars, the world would ponder many things, such as:

_How did he get such scars?_

_What are they from?_

_What did he do to deserve such horrible treatment?_

People were very good at attempting to fill in the blanks, a pity they usually failed to come up with the right answers to their questions. Instead, they came up with ideas that were more and more farfetched, images taken straight from nightmares and the latest popular horror movie.

Unfortunately for him, people like that would continue to believe their own bizarre theories even in the face of truth - a truth that was so unbelievable that it almost stopped being the truth. Better to wear a t-shirt while at the beach than to risk the eyes and wrong assumptions of others.

His eyes strayed over once again to the girl lying on the beach towel beside him in the shade of an umbrella. She was grinning as she watched their friends playing volleyball. Three long, sharp scars ran along her stomach and her back. Scars from a battle he's never seen and never had a chance to save her from. She lay there without a care in the world, ignoring the curious stares and the sound of wheels turning in the heads of various people as they attempted to solve the mystery that is the set of painful scars on the body of a young girl.

In an almost gentlemanly fashion, he offered his precious shirt to her. "To stop them from staring." He stated simply when she asked him why.

Rukia had stared at him for a moment, before smiling. "Let them stare, it's not like I have something to be ashamed of." Said the girl who had refused to let Orihime heal her because she hadn't wanted to lose the physical reminder of what she had paid to win.

His hand fell away from the hem of his shirt. Even with her assurance he still can't bring himself to share that part of himself with the world - the part that is supposed to be a hero.

Rukia seemed to sense his hesitance as she reached out and patted his shoulder. "It's okay." She said, smiling gently at him. "You don't have to do it now. It took me several years to understand that memories like these," she pointed to her stomach, which bore three thick lined scars. "Hold a meaning above what anyone else besides ourselves can attach to it."

There is a part of him that is angry at the fact that he can't rip off the shirt just yet.

But one day he will.

One day when he's ready.


	8. Free Advice

**Title:** Free Advice

**Torture:** Tongue Lashing

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing

**Characters/Pairings:** Kaien, Ichigo, Rukia; Ichigo/Rukia

**Rating: **PG

**Summary:** Ichigo receives some advice regarding his Hollow from an unexpected source.

**Warnings:** Spoilers for Kaien.

* * *

The world was black and white. Faceless figures brushed past him, jarring his shoulders as they continued to walk their steady path towards the light that would consume them. Nameless figure after nameless figure walked at a steady, comfortable pace, an endless sea of flesh. 

He didn't quite understand why he was caught in this darkness. He wasn't dead... at least, he wasn't supposed to be. A moment of fear struck him - was Rukia here? In this place?

The blood raced through his body as he looked wildly from side to side, attempting to see a familiar face.

"RUKIA?!" His voice grew louder as the panic settled into his bones. "RUKIA?!"

_Kurosaki Ichigo._

The voice hit him like an electic shock, jolting him from fear and into terror. He spun around to face his caller, only to meet another wave of featureless figures.

_Kurosaki Ichigo._

Ichigo took a step back as one of the shadows stopped before him and stared at him with eyes that were not there.

_You are Kurosaki Ichigo?_

Ichigo's mouth snapped shut and he nodded his head, at a loss of what else to do.

_You are the one with the... Hollow?_

His head moved of its own accord. "Yes."

_Thank God._ The voice, which till now had had an eternal quality to it, now sounded annoyed. _Do you have any idea how many people I've gone through to find you?_ The darkness melted away to reveal a face to Ichigo that was very similiar to his own.

"Who are you?" Ichigo snapped, fear being quickly replaced by the instinct to fight. "And what the hell are you trying to pull?!" His hand reached for the zanpaktou that wasn't there.

The dead man regarded him for a moment, judging him. Ichigo wasn't sure that he passed the test.

_Somebody with a piece of advice._ Ichigo was suddenly grabbed by the front of his collar by impossibly strong arms. His eyes widened as tentacles began sprouting out of the man's arms and wrapping around his own arms painfully. _Don't be like me. Don't become her next nightmare._

In the man's empty eyes (save for more reaching tentacles) Ichigo could actually see an image there - of a girl, at one moment laughing, the next sobbing.

_If you hurt her in any way, there will be a reckoning beyond your imagining Kurosaki Ichigo._ The tentacles melted away to reveal a human face, which shrugged helplessly. _I like you Kurosaki Ichigo, you remind me of how I used to be._ He slapped Ichigo on the shoulder, his grin widening. _Don't make my mistakes, boy. Believe me, Hell is nothing compared to memories._

XXX

Ichigo woke up with a gasp, his body shuddering with fear. It was just a dream. It was just a dream. It hadn't been real, there was no way it could possibly have been...

"Ichigo?"

Ichigo's eyes widened and his head snapped towards Rukia, who was lying down on a hospital cot, her body heavily wrapped in bandages. Her face was still too pale from the spiritual drain she had underwent when she had attempted to heal her own fatal wounds.

Rukia smiled at him and squeezed the hand that he had still yet to let go of. "Were you here all this time?" Her voice was scratchy.

He nodded dumbly. "You were asleep for a long time." He handed her a glass of water. His hands shook.

The girl shifted as she attempted to get comfortable on the stiff bed. "Were you afraid that I wasn't going to wake up or something?" She took the water from his gratefully.

He didn't answer.

"Ichigo?" Rukia sounded worried. "You look like you've seen a ghost." She chuckled a bit at her own joke. She squeezed his hand again. "Idiot," she muttered half-heartedly. "You better have not eaten my chocolate pudding while I was asleep or I'm going to have to kick your ass."

Ichigo gave a half-smirk. "Go back to sleep. You can kick my ass all you want later." He pushed her back against the pillows, retrieving the glass. Her eyes closed and she was asleep almost instantly.

He placed the glass on the bedside table and turned back to Rukia, ready to keep up his viligant watch over the girl. The lights flickered for only a moment, and on the other side of the bed, the man from his nightmare stood there staring at him, through him.

You hurt her and it won't be me that you have to worry about. It'll be yourself.


	9. Little Lost Puppy

**Title:** Little Lost Puppy

**Torture: **Whipped

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing

**Characters/Pairings: **Ichigo, Shinji, Hiyori, the rest of the Vizard; Ichigo/Rukia

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** Sometimes we lose faith in that which has never let us down.

**Warnings:** Spoilers for recent chapters.

* * *

The rain was falling heavily as he walked through the barrier and into the old abandoned factory building.

"What?" A familiar voice called from above him. "You've finished your trip to Hueco Muendo already?" The voice held a large mocking quality to it.

Ichigo looked up into Shinji's strange smiling face. It looked almost exactly the same, as it had on that day, not so long ago when he had first confronted Shinji at school. It had held the almost exact expression when it had whispered: "Do you really think those people are your friends? Orihime-chan, the big guy, those shinigamis, they may be your friends for now, but when you continue in this form, your Hollow will devour you and you will destroy everything."

Shinji continued to speak as the rest of the Vizards watched Ichigo, silently from the shadows.

"We weren't expecting you to come until tomorrow morning at the earliest, you know. I would of thought that you would have been with that little friend of yours, Ru-"

"You were right." Ichigo interrupted before Shinji could remind him of what he was leaving behind. He bowed his head, so that he wouldn't have to catch any of glowing eyes that watched him, waiting for him to make his next move. His shoulders slumped. "You were right." He repeated, his voice smaller this time.

He missed the look of surprise that flew across Shinji's face, and the way that he caught Hiyori's eyes. After a moment, Hiyori gave a slight nod, and Shinji nodded back. His eyes turned back to Ichigo.

"Welcome Home."

XXX

"How long do you think it will take before **she** comes after him?" Hiyori demanded as soon as Ichigo had gone down to the basement with the others.

Shinji stretched as he made himself comfortable on his lawn chair of wooden boxes. "Give or take a few hours after dawn." He patted the box next to himself. "Might as well get comfy. We're going to have quite the show when that little Soul Reaper comes here to drag him back, kicking and screaming."


	10. Draining Away

**Title:** Draining Away

**Torture:** Water

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing

**Characters/Pairings:** Rukia, Ichigo, Renji

**Summary:** Don't waste things, you never know when you might need it.

**Warnings:** Rukia's childhood

* * *

"What are you **doing**?!" Rukia sounded like he had just killed someone.

Ichigo turned away from the sink, where he had been filling up several water bottles with water for the family picnic that his father had sprung on them that morning. "What does it look like I'm doing?" He snapped irritated. He didn't want to go on another one of his father's stupid picnics. Last time this had happened, he had had to carry all of the five colossial baskets up a huge hill while his father and sisters had run ahead. He hadn't reached the top until an hour later, and by then they had been ready to go home.

"This," he pointed to the sink and continued in a sarcastic voice: "Is the tap. Water comes out of the tap. The Water goes into the water bottle. The reason for this is because I happen to be holding it under the tap. And now I'm going to turn off the tap and –"

"There was still water in there." Rukia snapped, sounding absolutely horrified. "You just threw it out like it was nothing."

He gave her a questioning look. "It was a week old, Rukia. The water had already gone stale…" His voice died at the look on Rukia's face.

The small girl strode up to the counter beside him and grabbed the remaining bottles that still held some of the stale water within them. Within a few minutes, she had gulped it all down. She slammed the last bottle down on the counter and stared up into his astonished face.

"If I ever catch you doing that again, I will kill you." Her voice was flat and it was harder than ice.

She didn't speak to him for the rest of the day.

However, in the middle of the night, he woke up to muffled sobs and Yuzu's worried voice asking Rukia-nee what the matter was. A child-like voice, hoarse beyond belief, that he almost didn't recognize at first, called out:

_"Renji? Renji? We need more water. I can't get Kakei to eat anymore. I can't get him to open his mouth all the way. Renji, where's the water? He needs water. Kakei, you just need to hold on a little while, Renji's bringing you a big jar of water- just for you... Kakei? Kakei?"_


	11. Destroying Pride

**Title:** Destroying Pride

**Torture:** Rack

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

**Characters/Pairings:** Ichigo, Shirosaki(Zangetsu); Ichigo/Rukia

**Summary:** Pride has no place in this game of life.

**Warnings:** Spoilers for recent chapters. A bit of graphic violence.

**Note:** Rack: an instrument of torture consisting of a frame on which the victim was stretched by turning rollers to which the wrists and ankles were tied. Done very slowly to question the victim.

* * *

His head snapped back with an extreme force, causing his neck to crack. His brain was barely able to register that someone had just punched him hard in the face. It felt like they had been wearing metal knuckles.

Before he had even had a moment to recover, a pale white arm had shot out and a white hand was holding him up by the throat, nails digging into Ichigo's flesh. Blood stained the black nails, making them even darker.

"What. The. Fuck. Do. You. Think. You're. Playing. At. **KING**?" The Hollow gritted out, the insane grin for once absent on his face. He looked furious and seemed far more deadly than he ever had during any of the previous encounters.

Ichigo grabbed at the Hollow's hand, trying to pry it away from his neck. The Hollow held on tighter.

"What does it look like Hollow? I'm fighting."

He didn't even see the second punch coming. He coughed up blood as the Hollow's fist left his stomach.

"How many damn times do I have to tell you King? I have a fucking name. ZANGETSU. Use it, you bastard." His eyes flashed angrily. "And you call this fighting?" Zangetsu spat out. "You're fucking stalling. He should have been dead the moment you took out your blade."

"What the hell is your problem?" Ichigo demanded, again trying to free himself from the fake Zangetsu's grasp. "I thought you were supposed to love fighting and murdering."

A white blade was through Ichigo's stomach in an instant. The Hollow laughed. "You really don't get it do you? Why we need to kill?" His laugh became louder and louder. "You actually think that there is such a thing as a fight for pride." He looked Ichigo in the eyes. "I have news for you King, men like us, have no room for pride." He raised his hand in the air. "Or have you forgotten already?" He snapped his fingers. "One."

_The rain poured forth from the sky. He opened his eyes, feeling slightly confused. _

_Had he tripped and fallen down?_

_He must have fallen in a puddle, his hand was in something warm and sticky._

_There was something heavy on him. It made it hard to breath. _

_His eyes glanced over to the side and he stared into a pair of fading warm amber eyes. Light brown hair flowed around her. _

_Realization dawned._

Ichigo was shaking. "How. Dare. You..."

The Hollow snapped his fingers again. "Two."

_"If you come after me, I will never forgive you."_

_There were tears in Rukia's eyes. He had never seen her cry. He had thought that she couldn't cry. _

_She walked away from him and toward the bright light behind the door - the bright light that no one is supposed to go toward if they want to live. Rukia was leaving him, to go off and die alone._

_As the doors slid closed, he saw her turn back her head toward the darkness that is life, and he knew. He knew then that Rukia didn't want to die._

_But there was no possible way that he could help her._

"Stop it!" Ichigo screamed. "Those are mine - My memories!"

"No. And what makes you think they aren't mine as well?" The white fingers snapped. "Three."

_Blood spilled over her lips. Blood the colour of a ripe cherry. _

_Her eyes were already dimming as they turned towards him. _

_"Run."_

_She was thrown to the ground with such force that her body made a sickening noise as it connected with the pavement. It sounded like an apple as it met its ruin._

_The monster turned around and grinned as if it were seeking his approval._

_And then, he was screaming._

Tears were running down Ichigo's cheeks now. "Stop it, you sick, sick bastard."

The Hollow that was Zangetsu shook his head. "You have to learn." He stated simply as he snapped his fingers once more. "Four."

_One moment, the pulse of reiatsu was beating, the next it had snapped, as if the taunt life thread had suddenly been cut by one of the Fates._

_Gone was the warm and cool snow. Gone was the laughter. Gone was the grace. Gone was everything that had made Rukia Rukia._

_The world ceased to exist._

The hand around his neck loosened and Ichigo fell to the floor. The Hollow watched as he gasped for breath. After a moment, the pale being spoke.

"Pride is meaningless in the face of life. We kill without taking pride into consideration because that is the only way to protect." He kneeled down beside the King of his realm. "Tell me, do you actually think that time will stop for us?"

A piece of fraying red ribbon was shoved into Ichigo's face. "You don't have much time left, you know. She's dying, bastard. Should you choose wisely, you might be there in just enough time to save her, if you start fighting the way you should have been from the very beginning."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Just a quick note to fans of Music of the Night. The story is completed, as I have stated in the summary and in my profile. There will be no more chapters, as I prefer that the ending should be left up to the reader's imagination, as there can't be any neat and tidy solution to this story. 


	12. Hide and Seek

**Title:** Hide And Seek

**Torture:** Silent Treatment

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**Characters/Pairings:** Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime; Ichigo/Rukia

**Summary:** There was a price for bringing back the dead. Unfortunately, it was the dead who had to pay it. AU.

**Warnings:** Spoilers for Orihime's power. Angst. The Ichigo and Rukia seperation for Life fic I swore I would never write.

* * *

It figured that it would be on his deathbed that he would find her - still looking as young and eternal as always, while he was a wrinkled, ninety year old man, dying on foreign soil. 

He could see her staring at him, behind all the nurses and Doctors - some alive, some ghosts that had long haunted that huge London hospital, all focused upon their task of keeping his frail body breathing. No one took notice of her, she was a shadow of a shadow, despite the fact that she wore white robes.

She stood there, perched on the window sill, almost exactly as she had all those years before when he was sixteen. There was no breath-taking smile on her face this time, but that didn't matter at the moment.

He had finally found her after seventy-four years of searching all three worlds for any trace of her.

A frail hand reached out to her. "Rukia..."

She didn't move.

XXX

_"Rukia? Rukia? Rukia, wake up!!!" The voice was filled with panic and fear as the lanky youth shook the small corpse by the shoulders. "You aren't allowed to die! Do you hear me?! You aren't allowed to die."_

_The corpse's head flopped back. The boy's hands began to shake. "Rukia? Come back. You weren't supposed to die - nobody was supposed to get hurt, oh God." His voice cracked from the strain of held back sobs._

_His eyes found Inoue's._

_"Heal her," He barked out._

XXX

"Sir? What's the matter?" One of the nurses took his out-stretched hand gently in her plump hand and patted it. She was a motherly looking woman and had a very good listening ear, which she had often lent him over the last few days.

Ichigo remained still; his eyes trained on Rukia, afraid that if he even blinked that she would disappear. It wasn't an unreasonable fear; she had done it often during the long years that he had chased her.

"R-Rukia..." His fingers strained within the nurse's grasp to touch Rukia, to confirm that she was real.

The nurse's eyes widened.

Rukia didn't speak and her eyes remained as cold as ice.

XXX

_Rukia walked through the world now, as if in a dream. At times, she seemed so lost that it wasn't even funny._

_She walked through the halls of his house and school looking for something that wasn't there._

_"I'm not supposed to be here, am I?" She asked him._

_"You're here now, and that's what matters." He told her several times._

_"Ichigo. What really happened that day?"_

_He always turned away when she asked that question._

XXX

He has searched the world over for any trace of her. All his life has been sent searching for her, to bring her back home, to marry her, to finally apologize.

And now, it was too late to do any of that.

His sisters have both grown up and married good men to take care of them. He has several nieces and nephews and several more great-nieces and nephews. They all know his story, or at least the version told to them by their mothers.

"Uncle Ichigo is searching for the ghost of a girl he loved very very much when he was younger. And he's not going to stop until he finds her. Now, why don't you go look at the nice souvenirs he sent you."

There wasn't one place he hadn't been in his mad chase after Rukia. It figured that the one place that he would find her was the last place he had thought to look.

The world between life and death.

XXX

_"Rukia... calm down." He tried to touch her shoulder._

_"Don't touch me!" She screamed at him. "What were you thinking?! Bringing back the dead?! Who the Hell do you think you are?!"_

_He grabbed her arm and jerked her toward him. "I had to, Rukia. Don't you understand?! I had to."_

_"LET GO!!!" She screamed, scratching at his eyes in her rage. "I was happy! Why did you have to bring me back?! Do you know what you've done?! Do you?!"_

_He kissed her as hard as he could, and instead of softening, Rukia became a block of ice. She pushed him away._

_"Don't touch me." Her hand clenched the sleeve of her other arm. "Don't you understand Ichigo? I'm no longer dead, and I'm no longer living."_

_He stared at her._

_She stared back. "I'm nothing now."_

_He shook his head wildly, and tried to grab her again. "You're Kuchiki Rukia and I lo-"_

_But she was already gone._

_He would never see her again until he was an old man waiting to finally rest after countless years of searching._

XXX

Machines were beeping wildly around him, as he continued to struggle toward her, throwing off the arms of stronger men as they tried to pull him back toward the bed.

He was sixteen again, and almost at the height of his strength. He grabbed her limp hand and pressed it to his lips.

"I'm sorry Rukia. God, I'm so sorry."

Her eyes softened then, as she took his own hand and kissed it. "Goodbye Ichigo."

As his body collapsed to the ground, his fading ghost still held her. "I'll find you again, Rukia, and this time I'll free you."

She gave him a sad smile. "Of course you will." And then, the keeper of the ferry that guided all Souls between all worlds took him across the one world and into the next, before she disappeared from his sight, to continue her service in the name of the King of Heaven.


	13. End of the Line

**Title:** The End of the Line

**Torture:** Humilation

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing

**Character/Pairings: **Ichigo, Rukia; Ichigo/Rukia

**Rating: **PG

**Summary:** The cursed ones don't have many choices.

**Warnings:** The sequel to the Ichigo/Rukia seperation piece I swore I would never write: Hide and Seek. Stupid plot bunnies. Also, this story features the theory that someone will have to pay for Orihime bringing the dead back to life - in this version, it is the formly dead who must pay the price.

* * *

A slow breeze brushed against the robes of the assembled Captains as they held the watch over the dying Commander General Yamato. 

The moon shone full, its light gracing the old man's features and revealing to all the shadow of a once great First Division Captain. His fellow Captains sat around him and waited. The Soul Reaper to the Soul Reapers would be coming soon, always on the moment when the spirit lay between life and death as the Seventh Division Captain had learned time and time again.

Several of the other Captains had cast him several disapproving looks as he started tapping his foot impatiently against the hard wood, but he paid them no mind. There was only one thing running through his head at the moment.

'She's coming, she's coming, she's coming.'

XXX

"_What do you think you're playing at?" Her voice only just barely hinted at just how furious she was._

_He grinned. It felt like he was lifting a large box full of bricks. His chest felt heavy and his lungs were struggling to move as blood spilled forth his tortured body. His opponent lay dead only a few feet away. "You're late, Rukia. I was almost worried that you weren't going to come."_

"_Ichigo. You __**have**__ to stop this. It's insane. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"_

_He could almost roll his eyes at her. "No. I just need a little help to visit your world."_

"_You __**need**__ to stop, Ichigo. He doesn't take kindly to people ending their own lives." Her hand touched his face, ghostly fingers glimpsing over his warm cheeks. He reached out and touched the white sleeve of her robe. The blood on his hands refused to stain the fabric._

"_Rukia…"_

XXX

It was a well-known fact that Captain Kurosaki of the Seventh Division was a man who chased after Death, who longed for it, who regarded it as one does a lover. And maybe he had every right to feel that way. There was a story that was whispered into the darkness of the night, a story filled with love, passion and tragedy. It was a story that focused largely upon the life of Captain Kuchiki's lost sister, Kuchiki Rukia, the woman who had made Captain Kurosaki the man he was today.

Her name was only mentioned briefly in the History books, stating how she was the one who had given her power to Kurosaki Ichigo; how she had housed the Hogyouku in her soul; how she was the first Soul Reaper to ever kill an Espada; and how she had one day disappeared off the face of the Earth one sunny day in Winter, never to be found in any world.

It wasn't very hard to realize that Captain Kurosaki was in love with this missing woman. Many a time when he was being healed after another reckless fight that would almost kill him, he would start holding a heated conversation with 'Rukia'.

Captain Kurosaki was chasing Death.

XXX

"_I'm going to save you Rukia."_

"_You can't, you fool." Her eyes were full of sadness. "It has been decided by Him." She smiled ruefully. "After all, Ichigo, the Dead were never meant to walk the Earth again, it's better this way."_

_He grabbed her hand. "Do you actually think that I would just let you go like that if I had some way of saving you?"_

"_Ichigo."_

"_I'm going to convince him Rukia to let you go. I'll find a way. Rukia, I lo-" Her lips were now on his. _

"_Don't make promises you can't keep." Her voice was low and dangerous. "Even you can't go against what the King of Heaven wills."_

"_Rukia. I promise."_

XXX

He could hear it now. The faint footsteps on the wooden boards, the slight chill in the air. This was it, the moment when he could see Rukia again in her forever cursed state of existing in between the world of the Living and the world of the Dead - Soul Reaper of the Soul Reapers, who answer directly to the King of Heaven, the one who had cursed her in the first place. There was a hush as the figure's face became clearer and clearer.

It wasn't Rukia.

Wearing dark robes, the former Arancar paused before Yamato. The bone of her mask caused several Captain's to grab their zanpaktous. She ignored them, her eyes focusing only on Yamato.

"It's time to go."

"Where's Rukia?" Ichigo was by her side in an instant, his spiritual force crackling.

His former enemy turned to him. "I have a message for you, from my cursed sister. She says it's time to move on."

XXX

"_This is the last time Ichigo. You have to stop this."_

"_Rukia, stop being an idiot. If this is the only way that I can see you, then I'm prepared to pay the price."_

"_Utter damnation?"_

"_What? Rukia, what are you talking about?"_

"_This is goodbye, Ichigo."_


	14. Eclipses of the Sky

**Title:** Eclipses of the Sky

**Torture:** Bondage

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing

**Character/Pairings: **Ichigo, Rukia; Ichigo/Rukia

**Rating: **PG

**Summary:** Nothing can stop Destiny. Nothing.

**Warnings:****A HAPPY ENDING?! WTF?!** Sequel to Hide and Seek and The End of the Line. Also, this story features the theory that someone will have to pay for Orihime bringing the dead back to life - in this version, it is the formly dead who must pay the price.

* * *

She walked among the remains of the shadows and the endings of light. A vision in white robes, she shone out in that strange world between life and death. Waiting and watching for her exit.

The curtains shifted for a moment, but then they were closed again, trapping her in this world of endless half-life.

Her eyes narrowed, and Shirayuki was in her hand. She stepped towards the World of the Dead - the world that had once been her home and held her childhood in its hands. Shirayuki sang as it forced itself through the curtain, and for a moment she could see the world that was hers. Her hand darted out through that small gap and for a moment she was real. She could feel the wind as it brushed against her hand, weaving amongst her fingers. A drop of rain fell upon her hand, before she was pushed back.

The curtains snapped shut, hiding the world of Death from her eyes.

Rukia smiled grimly in the darkness.

For a moment, she had been flesh and blood once more.

For a moment, she had been able to feel him once more.

For a moment, she had been free.

XXX

He walked through the night, following the path that the moon gave him. He didn't quite know why but for some reason he thought that it had been helping him - leading him back to her.

She had gone someplace where he can't follow, but he knew that it was only a matter of time now before he found her or she found him. He knew why she had done what she had done when she had decided to disappear forever from his view. He had been drawing unwanted attention upon himself - the gates of Hell would have opened eventually for him if she hadn't stopped him from going too far.

Rukia was still out there somewhere is one of the worlds, and he knew that just like himself, she was searching for a way out, a way back to the past.

The Sun chased the Moon and the Moon chased the Sun in an endless attempt to belong to the other's world.

Thus, it was impossible for either to catch each other.

Unless, of course, there was a bit of help along the way.

XXX

Shirayuki's ribbon glided along the air as it called out for him that they left behind.

The chain of Zangetsu rattled in the wind, as it sung its lament of the woman they had cursed to a life of servitude.

Their songs wrapped around each other and danced between the worlds.

The gates of Separation were parting.

XXX

_Are you so unhappy?_ The voice was gentle and kind. The voice was angry and wrathful. The voice was that of a man. The voice belonged to a woman. It was a child that cried with that voice. The voice was the earth. The voice was the sky. The voice was everything and nothing.

She didn't turn around. She knew that she would see nothing there. The splendor of the King of Heaven was not meant for her eyes or anyone else's. "You could say that," she says, carefully. "Yes. You could say that." She fingered the door behind the curtain that separated her from all other worlds.

_Do you miss him?_

She wondered why He asked her these questions when He already knew the answers. "Yes. Very much."

_Did you love him then?_

"Yes."

_You never told him._

She turned around to stare at nothing and everything, her eyes wide with shock. "Does everything need to be said out loud for it to be true or to exist?"

_No. No, it does not._ The voice was smiling at her.

"He knew," Rukia stood tall, a woman in love if there ever was one. "Ichigo knows how I feel, he has always known. I've never needed to tell him, because really, what would have been the point?"

_Did you know about his love for you then?_

She smiled a sad smile, the smile of a woman about to marry another, the smile of a woman who would never know love again. "Of course."

Warmth surrounded her body. _You understand then, do you? Words mean nothing in the end. There is only acknowledgement._

She smiled. "Thank you." She closed her eyes, and walked forward.

There was no door. There was no curtain. There was no boundary. There were no more chains, except one.

XXX

The Sun chased the Moon forever and ever, longing to make her his bride. It was a never-ending chase, as he did not realize that she chased after him as well.

But there was always the chance that they could one day meet, if either one decided one day to turn around to greet the other.

He saw her in the fading light of the Moon and the raising light of the Sun. She stood right in front of him, looking almost exactly as she had when she had disappeared that day so long ago when he was only sixteen. She smiled and raised her arms towards him, and then she was pressed against his body and she was real once more and so was he.

"It's over," was all she said as she clung to him in that mixture of light and darkness. "It's over."

Sun and Moon had passed the test that God had placed upon them.

They were free from all chains, except one - which was the strongest chain of all as they had proven over the long years of searching for an opening between worlds - an opening that had always been there.


	15. Hell Has No Fury Like A Woman's

**Title:** Hell Knows No Fury Like a Woman's

**Torture:** Bullying/Intimation

**Disclaimer:** Bleach belongs to Kudo Tite

**Characters/Pairings:** Ichigo, Rukia, Yamamoto; Ichigo/Rukia

**Rating:** PG

**Summary: **Rukia will do anything to keep them together.

**Warnings:** Rukia and her acting skills.

* * *

"Have you heard the latest?" Rukia asked.

Ichigo looked up from his textbooks. "No. What?" He asked as he reached over and took a sip of his coffee.

"The Commander General has been feeling rather guilty lately."

"Really?" Ichigo felt a moment of sympathy for the older man. The battle against Hueco Muendo had taken a large toll on Soul Society - innocents and Soul Reapers had been brutally murdered, and according to rumour, Yamamoto knew every single one of their names off by heart. "He should know that it wasn't his fault."

Rukia shook her head, her eyes watching him with interest. "Actually, he's feeling more guilty about you."

"What? What are you talking about, Rukia?"

She shrugged, and looked away from him, causing Ichigo to suddenly feel worried. "He worries that we've taken too much away from you - that we've ruined your life."

Ichigo could feel himself sweating. "You haven't." His hand inched across the table to her hand.

"He wants us to stop all contact with you. He has ordered that this is to be my last visit with you until you die."

The chair crashed to the ground and he was almost over top the table, pinning her to the back of the kitchen chair. "You are not going anywhere." He growled. "I don't care what I have to do, but if I have to, I'll go to him and tell him that, that..." His eyes widened as he realized what he was about to say. His hands relaxed around her shoulders. He looked away, too scared to see what her reaction would be to the words and feelings that he had always refused to say.

"Good."

His head snapped over to stare at Rukia. She was smiling, and it looked like there were tears in her eyes. "You know," she took his hands in her own and squeezed them. "There are easier ways to convince someone than threatening their lives." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Congratulations. You're a father."

"HUH? WHA?" Ichigo's brain was a bit slow processing what Rukia had just told him. Then: "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! WE HAVEN'T EVEN HAD SEX YET, MUCH LESS HAVE ANY TONGUE! OH GOD! YOU TOOK ADVANTAGE OF ME IN MY SLEEP, DIDN'T YOU?! I KNEW THAT ONE DREAM WAS JUST TOO GOOD TO BE A DREAM!"

Rukia stared at him. "What are you talking about? What dreams? I was bluffing when I told Yamamoto that I was pregnant with your child, and did he actually expect me to raise my child without its father? It was lucky that I had done plenty of research in your world before hand - he reacted exactly as I expected him to." She frowned. "Of course, I don't think that Nii-sama was too pleased, he looked like he was having a heart attack."

"Buh gah?"

Rukia ignored him, and pulled a tie and dinner jacket out of nowhere. Ichigo's eyes bugged out. "You are going to wear this. You are going to smile. You are going to hold my hand. And you are not going to make any comment when Yamamoto comes to give his blessing." She smiled sweetly at him. "And then, later tonight, you are going to tell me all about those little dreams of yours."

Ichigo whimpered.


	16. Happiness in the Home

**Title:** Happiness in the Home

**Torture:** Deprivation 

**Disclaimer:** Bleach belongs to Kudo Tite

**Characters/Pairings:** Ichigo, Rukia, Yamamoto; Ichigo/Rukia

**Rating:** PG

**Summary: **You could almost feel sorry for him – almost.

**Warnings:** Rukia. **Sequel to Hell Knows No Fury Like A Woman's**

* * *

  
"You will sleep in separate rooms." Byakuya's voice held no room for argument, as he glared holes into Ichigo's head. Ichigo slunk a little bit further into his seat on the couch beside his future bride.

Rukia didn't seem to hear the underlying threat in her brother's voice as she continued to hold Ichigo's hand. "I don't see why we should do that. I mean, we already had sex, where else would this little one come from?" She cooed as she patted her tummy, completely missing the horrified looks on Yamamoto, Byakuya, and Ukitake's faces. Byakuya shot another glare towards Ichigo, that clearly stated that he knew exactly what Ichigo had done to his precious little sister and as soon as they were alone, he was going to have a lovely little chat with Byakuya's zanpaktou.

Life just wasn't fair. Ichigo hadn't even done any of the things that Byakuya was imagining he had done to Rukia. He hadn't even gotten any tongue yet. And because of Rukia's stupid scheme he was going to die for something he had never done.

"Besides," Rukia continued, touching his knee (Ichigo jerked, causing Byakuya's glare to increase tenfold). "According to several books I picked up," She nodded to several neatly arranged titles on the coffee table (_A Young Mother's Guide to Pregnancy_; _How To Be a Good Parent_; _Have You Got a Bun in the Oven?_; _How Your Man Can Continue to Please You During the Next Nine Months of Hell_; _Top Ten Assassins For Getting Rid of the Bastard Who Decided It Would Be a Wonderful Idea for You to Carry His Child_) "It is important for the baby to know that both his mama and his papa love him very much." She squeezed Ichigo's knee, causing him to squeak.

"Ah, but Kuchiki, the child isn't even born yet..." Ukitake stopped at the look that Rukia shot him.

Rukia picked up a book from the table, _Modern Parenting_, and shook it in his face. "According to the latest parenting tips, it is important that the child knows right from the start that they are loved!" She let out a sigh and leaned into Ichigo, jabbing his ribs ever so subtly. He quickly put an arm around her shoulders and forced a smile - he looked like he had just eaten a sour egg.

She let out a giggle. "Ichigo is always so good. He kisses my tummy every morning and night to let his baby know that he loves him."

Ichigo shot a look to Rukia. He did not! The damn actress. As if anyone would actually fall for her act...

Byakuya made a sudden shift on the couch and both Yamamoto and Ukitake grabbed his arms tightly.

"Captain Kuchiki, please. Calm yourself for your sister's sake." Ukitake warned.

"Don't forget about the baby." Rukia piped up, wrapping her arms around Ichigo's torso and snuggling up next to him. "It's important to raise the child in a healthy, loving atmosphere." She kissed Ichigo on the lips, to which he eagerly returned.

There was a strangled scream from someone on the other couch.

"Right. I think that we should quickly bless them and get out of here, before Captain Kuchiki kills himself." Ukitake threw a pointed look at Yamato.

Yamamoto nodded and waved his hand over the kissing couple's head. "You are blessed. May your house have many children."

Rukia pulled away from Ichigo. "Oh thank you!" She gushed. "You are too kind." She patted her tummy. "See how loved you are? Mommy loves you, Daddy loves you, Grandpa Yamamoto loves you, Uncle Byakuya loves you. Everybody loves you. You're such a lucky baby, yes you are." She cooed, never even noticing how the three Soul Reaper Captains had already slipped out the door.

"Rukia. They're gone."

Rukia's head snapped up. "Good." She grabbed Ichigo's arm and started racing upstairs. "Now listen and listen good. You are going to make me pregnant and you are going to do it right now, or I will never let you see the light of day again."

Ichigo grinned. Figuring that he could live with that.

They didn't come out of the bedroom till a week later.


	17. Way Back When

**Title:** Way Back When

**Theme:** Ice cream

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**Characters/Pairings: **Ichigo, Rukia, Yuzu, Karin, Renji, Masaki, Isshin; Isshin/Masaki, implied Ichigo/Rukia

**Rating: **G

**Summary:** Sometimes, it's nice to remember the good old days.

**Author's Note:** A big thank you to all of the reviewers, it's lovely hearing from you and I enjoy reading all of your comments. Thank you. 3

* * *

Rukia laughed aloud as she watched Karin and Yuzu running along the bank of the river, chasing some of the frogs that had made the mistake of showing their faces. She patted Ichigo on the back. 

"I hate to say this, but your father actually has some great ideas every once and awhile." She took another lick of her triple scoop ice cream cone that Isshin had bought her earlier. "I haven't done something like this since I was younger than Karin and Yuzu."

Ichigo turned his gaze away from his sisters to glance at Rukia. "Really?" It was somewhat hard to imagine Rukia as a child. "You and... Renji?"

Rukia nodded, a soft smile on her face. "The thing about Soul Society is that it never does anything by halves. When it was Winter, it was Winter - a person could freeze to death if they didn't have sufficient heat..." Her face fell for a moment at the sight of some unpleasant memory.

Ichigo looked away, giving her the precious privacy that was so hard to find when coupled with grief.

After a moment, Rukia spoke again. "The Summers were always so hot, hotter than this even."

"Really?"

"Yes. We used to come down to the river all the time, and just spend the whole day walking through it. Sometimes, if we were lucky, we were even able to catch fish for dinner." She smiled at another memory. "Toki was the best at catching fishes, he was always so patient. He could wait in the same spot for hours just to catch one fish. Of course," she reflected. "He always ended up catching the most."

Ichigo let out a small grin. "How good was Renji? Was he second best or was that you?"

Rukia burst out laughing at that point. "Renji? He was awful! He kept running around with this stupid stick trying to spear the fish. He always ended up tripping over it and falling head-first into the water. And of course, I was second-best, what else would I be?"

Ichigo wisely did not comment.

Rukia let out a satisfied sigh. "I've missed this." She took another bite from her ice cream that refused to melt away like Ichigo and his sisters' had.

Ichigo coughed somewhat embarassed. "You know, back when my mom was... here... my Dad used to take us on picnics like this all the time. We would spend the whole day here, just playing in the water. Dad would teach us how to swim and all sorts of other random stuff, and Mom would be collecting some of the flowers to make a bouquet..." A smile came over his face. "My favourite part was when the sun was setting."

"Why's that?" Rukia's voice reminded him of where he was.

He shrugged. "I don't know why exactly. By that time, the twins and I were always exhausted, but that was the time when Dad would get Mom to dance with him in the water. He would start singing, always these really corny romantic songs off-key and Mom would just start laughing and she wouldn't stop..." He paused. "You know, we're wasting a whole bunch of time looking back on old memories, when we could be doing something else."

Rukia smacked him lightly on the head. "It isn't "wasting time" moron, it's "time well spent". Honestly, how you've managed to survive for so long without me to correct all your mistakes, I'll never understand." She said in a lofty tone.

"You might want to finish your ice cream while you still can," Ichigo threatened. "Because in a moment I'm going to dump your ass in that river."

Rukia took one more bite of her ice cream before setting it off to the side. "Don't worry, Shirayuki will take care of it for me." She grinned at him, mischeviously. "And who says that you'll be tossing me into the river? I'm pretty sure that that will be me tossing your weak ass in to swim with the fishes."

He smirked.

A moment later, there was a shriek of laughter and a yell as two bodies fell head-first into the suddenly freezing water.


End file.
